Sunday, January 19, 2014

Costa Rica - Day 10 - March 25, 2013

On our last morning in the beautiful country of Costa Rica we awoke later than had been typical of the trip and dragged ourselves to breakfast which was complimentary. Although there was a buffet full of fruit served at this breakfast, it wasn't quite as ripe or as fresh as the fruit we had earlier in the trip. There was an air of sadness at the breakfast table because we knew that in just a few short hours we had to return the trusty rental car and head home.
After breakfast we packed up our things and headed to the pool to lounge around for a bit before checking out. The chaise lounges by the pool were perfect for hawk watching and lazy birding in general. We were even able to add Vaux's Swift to our trip list without moving more than just one arm (to grab the binoculars)!
Before returning the car to the rental place we had to fill up the gas tank which was a little nerve-wracking in the big city of San Jose. When we had filled up the car in the rural areas things were very relaxed with nobody hanging around ready to beg money out of tourists. However, in the city things were quite a bit different with all kinds of people hanging around the gas stations just waiting for a tourist to pull in. Almost immediately after our attendant gave us our change and walked away, a guy appeared at our window asking for money. We simply said no and drove away. When I looked back to see what the guy was doing after we left I saw that he was already at someone else's window.
When we returned the car to the rental place they did a visual inspection of the entire car. The guy looked at the tailpipe a little funny and wiggled it around with his hand (remember that awful road?). He then shrugged and checked it off as ok on the form. I guess since it didn't fall off it was fine. The rental car company had a free shuttle that went from their office to the airport, so we took that back to where we had started this whole adventure over 9 days ago. One day we will be back. We promise.

Leaving Costa Rica

Areal view of Nicaragua

Thunderheads somewhere over the Carribean

The following is a list of all 228 bird species we saw during our time in Costa Rica. The list is in taxonomic order with the first date and location listed where we saw them. We saw many of these species in multiple locations, but to post the complete list of birds seen at each place we stopped at would be a nightmare.